Berzerka

Welcome to the Berzerka-lympics! Players are competing against each other over the course of 5 different main events. Each event will require a different tactic to come out on top. Are you extremely confident you will win a specific event? Then up the stakes by telling your opponents before the event even starts! Has the event started, but turns out you are not prepared as you thought? That's ok, there is always time to pivot by getting rid of your old tactics and make room for new ones. The player that performs the best across all 5 events will be the winner. So, get out there and make a name for yourself! Berzerka is a compendium trick taking game that takes inspiration from Mizerka and Coiffeur Jass. There are 5 different contracts players must complete over the course of the game.Players are only dealt half their hand at first and may bid on a contract. If they do, it will increase the point value of that contract at the end of the game. If everyone passes, the rest of the hand is dealt and the first player (Forehand) must pick a contract. However, the game value does not increase. Before trick play, there is an opportunity to discard cards from your hand and draw from the undealt cards. After all players complete the same contract, their scores are compared. Whoever scored the best in that contract will gain points and whoever did the worst will lose points. The game ends after all players have completed all 5 contracts. An overview of the game in slightly more detail:Dealing Phase: - Only deal half of the hand, rounded up (e.g. 7 cards when hands are 13 cards total) - The other half of the hand will be dealt after the bidding phase Bidding Phase (starts with Forehand): - Bid on a contract you have not completed yet or pass - May overbid if someone has already bid, but requires taking a 1 trick penalty - Players bid/overbid until all but one player passes. They are the Declarer and play what they bid. - If all players pass, Forehand is “put in the hotseat”. Deal the rest of the hand, then Forehand must pick a contract. Discard/Draw Phase (starts with Declarer, unless they were in the hotseat): - This whole step is optional for all players! - Discard any number of cards, face down, *declarer must record the number of cards discarded* - Draw the same number of cards from the undealt cards - Complete this step until the deck is empty or all players have discarded and drawn Trick Phase (starts with Declarer): - Must follow, if you cannot follow you must trump, if you cannot follow and cannot trump play anything - Must beat - Winner of trick leads next trick until all tricks are played Scoring Phase (only Declarer scores): - Declarer records number of tricks won